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Zoe Hayes

Zoe Hayes is an alumna of Y-Press, having graduated from high school in May 2007. Prior to graduation, she worked on a wide variety of stories, which covered topics ranging from child soldiers in Uganda to mainstreaming and inclusion in public schools. In October 2006, she was a member of the Benin story team. She is currently studying engineering at Purdue University.

Interests: Music, books, movies, politics, science, art, writing, anthropology, the environment, Africa and the issues faced by people there, PostSecret, Found, people-watching

Hobbies: Jewelry-making, reading, sketching and drawing
Favorite Color: Green
Favorite Book(s): The Subtle Knife
Favorite Movie(s): The Constant Gardener, Pan's Labyrinth
Favorite Food: Orange juice
Favorite YPress Story: Youth in Benin

Stories by Zoe

Teens say benefits of blogging worth the risks
By Britany Lewis, 16, Zoe Hayes, 17

This is the first of two Y-Press stories about blogs. On April 23, Y-Press will examine new uses for blogs, such as in classrooms and in advertising. 'Instruct your children to never arrange a face-to-face meeting with someone they met online; to never upload (post) pictures of themselves onto the Internet or online service to people they do not personally know; to never give out identifying infor

Miamis maintain culture against odds
By Cindy Mangan, 17, Luke Hovee, 16, Zoe Hayes, 17

O n a cool day in early November, the Miami Nation of Indiana hosted a native craft show at the Chief Richardville House in Waynedale. Outside, men played drums and chanted. The scent of wood smoke from two fires filled the air. Buffalo stew and fry bread cooked over one of the open-pit fires, and elders talked around the other fire. It was a friendly atmosphere; greetings of "Aya aya niihka," or

Mother's Day gives cause to pause fondly
By Zoe Hayes, 17

Mother's Day is fraught with expectations. Retailers and advertisers stress the importance of the right greeting card, the perfect present, the most memorable celebration. But what mothers really want is to know that they are doing something right. And the people who can best answer this question are their children. A few Y-Press members agreed to share some of their thoughts and recollections of

Blogs reshape communications
By Zoe Hayes, 17

This is the second of two Y-Press stories on blogs. To read the April 16 story, visit www.indystar.com/living. When Christopher Columbus set out for India, he didn't even have an accurate map. Today, millions of people are setting out into another uncharted territory called the Internet. Never before has so much information been so readily accessible to so many people. While much focus has been on

Teens examine theories on peace
By Rachel Troy, 16, Robin Wetherill, 16, Izaak Hayes, 15, Zoe Hayes, 17

Defense strategist and author Thomas P.M. Barnett has a plan that he says will abolish global terrorism and lead the way to Middle East peace. It starts with becoming allies with Iran and making China and India happy. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. Barnett has spent much of his career as a strategic planner dealing with national security issues. He has served as a strategic researcher and p

Free and active press is a learned lesson
By Zoe Hayes, 16

In Rwanda, more than half of the Tutsi population was slaughtered by a militia of Hutu extremists. While there had been conflict and unease between the two ethnic groups, no one expected a genocide causing 800,000 deaths. That genocide was a triumph for propaganda. For a year, the government-controlled Rwandan radio station Radio Television Libre de Milles Collines, or RTLM -- one of two stations

Local students learn it's not easy sledding
By Lauren Bruns, 14, Zoe Hayes, 16, Cassyetta Price, 15, Mallory St. Claire, 14

T he air was cool, but not cold, and the snow was slushy instead of pristine. Anchorage in early March felt a lot like Indianapolis to five students from Crestview Elementary, who were in Alaska for the start of the 2005 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Most of the students were prepared for the roar of the crowd as thousands of people cheered the 79 mushers and their dog teams as they moved their sl

Teenagers try to cope with suicidal friends
By Zoe Hayes, 16, Jordan Denari, 14

E verybody has said it at least once, maybe while stressing over final exams or after a regrettable error: "I'm going to kill myself." But some people think about it seriously, and a few go through with it. Suicide is the third-leading cause of death among U.S. youth ages 10 to 19, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The effects of a young person's suicide are widespread,

Teens consider the possibility of military draft
By Andy Goldblatt, 16, Zoe Hayes, 16

In December, the Army National Guard reported it had fallen short of its recruiting goals by 30 percent since Oct. 1. With 40 percent of the troops in Iraq being from the National Guard or Army Reserve, this decline has sparked talk of reinstating the draft. President Bush has said he opposes a draft, and reinstatement would require action by him and Congress. Nonetheless, almost every U.S. male m

Making 'music' is at the heart of area's stepping groups
By Zoe Hayes, 15

To many students, activities such as choir, band, color guard or athletics are an important part of their school experience. They drill and practice for hours to compete against other teams, and many say later that the experience made an impression on them. For more and more students, stepping, an African-American art form with roots in African history, has had a similar impact. Stepping groups ca

Young readers rate Lemony Snicket
By Zoe Hayes, 16

Those poor Baudelaire orphans never seem to get a break, and kids never seem to get enough of their awful adventures. In September, "The Grim Grotto" was released, finding the Baudelaires again in trouble, this time of a watery variety. As Lemony Snicket, aka Daniel Handler, wrote on Amazon.com, "Unless you are a slug, a sea anemone, or mildew, you probably prefer not to be damp. You might also pr

Parents, kids thrive in shared activities
By Zoe Hayes, 16

"Bye, Mom. See you in a couple of hours," the soccer player says, opening the car door as it draws up to the curb. "All right, Josh. Tell your coach I can't work the stand at Saturday's game," the mom responds. "I'm sure he can find someone else. I really don't have time." She speeds away. Some parents are lucky to see their children's games and performances, much less participate in practices and

For 'cyberathletes,' real playing field is on a computer
By Zoe Hayes, 16, Peter DePaolo, 15

"Cyberathlete Amateur League." An online training camp for athletes? A new fantasy football league? How about a massive cyber-network of video-game players, meeting online to play games such as Halo, Doom or Counter-Strike competitively? To most people, being an athlete involves things such as kicking a soccer ball into a net, turning a somersault or scoring touchdowns. But at the Cyberathlete Ama

Inclusion aids students with special needs
By Zoe Hayes, 15, Colleen Merkel, 18

Twenty years ago, high school students with special needs would have been placed in separate classrooms, with limited interaction with other kids. Today, Kelly Kaser, a 19-year-old Carmel student with Down syndrome, has a totally different experience. Her school day consists of helping out at a preschool and attending inclusion classes, where she works beside students without disabilities. She pla

Roots & Shoots groups working to change world
By Karen Callahan, 14, Zoe Hayes, 15

"Roots creep underground everywhere and make a firm foundation. Shoots seem very weak, but to reach the light, they can break open brick walls. Imagine that the brick walls are all the problems we have inflicted on our planet. Hundreds of thousands of roots & shoots, hundreds of thousands of young people around the world, can break through these walls. We can change the world." -- Jane Goodall In

Drug testing draws support, ire from teens
By Zoe Hayes, 14, Ashleigh Graves, 18

At least once a year, many Indiana high school students are herded into the gym or auditorium. Over the loudspeakers, they are warned not to stop at their locker or the restroom on the way. This is not a fire drill -- it is a drug search. While students are in the gym, police and drug-sniffing dogs search the school premises, checking cars, lockers, backpacks and purses. Such searches are common i

Program helps ease transition to high school
By Elisabeth Randall, 13, Zoe Hayes, 14, Katie Qualkinbush, 15

Imagine going to high school with 3,210 other kids. Do you think you'd be able to find your way around in seven minutes with that many people in the hallways? Could you make friends? North Central High School freshmen share many such concerns. Panther Quest, an optional summer program, is designed to help students become familiar with the school and each other before the school year begins. To fin

Unregulated drug cleansers raise debate
By Ashleigh Graves, 18, Zoe Hayes, 14

Some teens who shop at health food stores aren't looking for typical items such as soy milk, whole-wheat flour or multivitamins. They come for products such as Stat and Naturally Klean, shelling out $10 to $30 a bottle to join the thousands of people who purchase drug cleansers each year. Drug cleansers are supplements that claim to allow a drug user to pass a drug test, usually within a four- to

Benin strives for better schooling
By Zoe Hayes, 18, Chris Reissaus, 18

In late October, six Y-Press journalists and three adult chaperones visited Benin to examine the life of youth in the relatively new democracy and the challenges they face. In addition to today's story, their reporting was featured in The Star on Dec. 30. Those stories can be read at www.indystar.com/Ypress. The reporting team: Zoe Hayes, 18, Lebanon; Chris Reissaus, 17, Carmel; and Jonathan Gaine

One is the onliest number
By Charlie Osborne, 11, Zoe Hayes, 18, Keenen Brannon, 13

Zachary Bowman, Sam Jacobi, Drake Jellison, Brooke Sawyer and Tyler Sharpe are among a trend- setting group these days. Each of these Indianapolis youths is an only child, and families such as theirs are the fastest-growing family group in the country. According to the U.S. Census, the percentage of women having only one child rose from about 10 percent to 23 percent from 1980 to 2000.

Benin strives for better schooling
By Chris Reissaus, 18, Zoe Hayes, 18

Only half of all Beninese kids attend school, according to the Beninese government. The government is working to change that by making elementary education free for all citizens, beginning this year. The change will involve an estimated 1 million children (based on population estimates) and will be a step toward increasing the country's literacy rate, which now hovers near 41 percent, among the world's worst, according to the Benin Education Fund.

Life as child soldier hard to leave
By Zoe Hayes, 18

The whole family was in misery – weeping and mourning for Arach Kevin, who they had heard had been killed by rebels. And then one day, then-12-year-old child soldier escaped the Ugandan rebel forces that had abducted her at age 10 and returned to the resettlement camp in Paicho, Uganda.

Benin: full-speed into the future
By Zoe Hayes, 18, Jessika Officer, 14, Jonathan Gainer, 14, Keisha Mitchell, 18, Elisabeth Randall, 17, Chris Reissaus, 17

Though unfamiliar to Americans and home to a painful past, the West African nation of Benin quickly is becoming the center of hope in the region.